The following selected list of resources on
Japanese Women’s
History was created in an effort to painlessly locate materials on
Japanese
women other than the few “mainstream” writers, feminists, and other
figures whose
names often appear in general Japanese dictionaries. Besides scattered
materials in the Reference section of Starr, there are a great number
of
resources relating to Japanese (as well as Korean and Chinese) women,
feminism,
gender studies, etc. in the HQ1075-1765 section of the 100 level. It is
worth
browsing through this section to see the varieties of research being
produced
in both Japanese and English on Japanese women’s history and women’s
studies. For
other sources in Japanese women’s studies, see Julie
Rousseau’s project entitled, “Women’s Studies,” Part III of BIB
Chapter 21.

The interdisciplinary
essays in this two-volume collection
look at a variety of changes in cultural and social gender roles within
different historical periods in Japan, and strive to illustrate that
gender is
not isolated from the rest of historical studies. Volume 1 is entitled
“Religion and Customs/ The Body and Sexuality” and Volume 2 is entitled
“The
Self and Expression/ Work and Life.” 30 of the original 41 essays were
subsequently
selected, translated into English, and published by WakitaHaruko, Anne Bouchy,
Ueno Chizuko as “Gender and
Japanese History”(Osaka
University Press, 1999. RES
HQ1762 .J46 1999g).

Subtitled in English as
“TimeSpace
of Gender: Redefining Japanese Women's History,” each volume of this 6
volume
work consists of 15 or so chapters individually written by historians,
scholars, and professors of women’s history. Chronologically analyzes
the
history of Japanese women from primitive times to the 21st
century.
Keywords are written for the reader’s convenience below the body of
writing in
each chapter; useful indexes organized by places, people, and things.
The
supplement consists of a valuable chronology of Japanese women’s
history.

<>

>

Shashinkaigashûsei: Nihon no onna-tachi. Nihon Tosho Center, 1996.

HQ1762.S518 1996
(Volumes 1, 3, 4 missing)

A caption below each of
the black and white photographs and
pictures in this 6 volume pictorial collection indicates the year and a
short
explanation of the issues and conditions faced by Japanese women at the
time. Encompasses themes of lifestyle, work,
education, generations,
individuals, and crossing boundaries.

Nihon joseishironshû.SôgôJoseishiKenkyûkai. Yoshikawa Kôbunkan,
1997.

EA HQ1762.N544 1997
(Volumes 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 are missing)

Comprehensive
10-volume collection of
essays of women’s history from ancient times to the present written by
scholars
and professors of major universities. Each volume consists of
one topic
of which there are 20 or so lengthy essays. Topics include: viewing
women’s
history; politics; the home; marriage; religion; livelihood and
employment;
culture; education and thought; sex and the body; and movements.

Collection of 13
chronologically-organized multidisciplinary
essays by Japan specialists, divided into 2 parts: “Women and Family:
1600-1868” and “The Modern Discourse on Family, Gender, and Work:
1868-1945.” Analysis of the evolution of female
roles and feminine identity in
Japan over the past 350 years through historically-based discussions of
gender/sex, womanhood/motherhood, male/female, and
masculinity/femininity.

<>

>

Kumiko Fujimura-Fanselow and Kameda Atsuko, eds. Japanese Women: New Perspectives on the
Past, Present, and Future. New
York: The Feminist Press, 1995.

RES HQ1762.J38 1995

28 translated essays by
Japanese women scholars who seek to
inform Americans about current issues and research in Japanese
women/gender
studies and the current status of women in Japan. Divided into 5
sections:
cultural and historical perspectives of women’s place; education;
marriage, family,
and sexuality; workplace; and asserting new powers in the future. Includes a selective bibliography of English-language
works since
1980 and an appendix of significant dates in the recent history of
Japanese
women.

TonomuraHitomi,
Anne Walthall, and WakitaHaruko, eds. Women and Class in
Japanese History.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1999.

RES HQ1762.W625 1999

Series
of 14 essays, the majority of which
were written by Japanese scholars (many of whom also wrote essays in Jendaa no nihonshi,
which complements this collection well), translated into English.Provides a good introduction to the gendering of
mobilization,
occupations, class differences, bodies, domains, associations, roles,
and
experiences from the pre-modern to the modern period.Includes
a bibliographical essay of major titles in study of women’s history in
Japan
with an emphasis on the postwar period and new perspectives in women’s
history.

Dictionaries

The list that follows consists of
women’s history
dictionaries. You may be able to find fairly detailed entries of
certain
Japanese women and important events in Japanese women’s history (mainly
major
historical figures in literature or the beginnings of feminism) in the Kokushidaijiten
(REF DS 833.K64), Nihon rekishidaijiten (REF DS 833.N49 2000), Nihon
shi daijiten (REF DS 833.N645 1992),
or Nihon jinmeijiten
(REF DS 834.K66
1994). However, these women’s history dictionaries (and the
biographical
dictionaries of the following section) provide far more names and
entries related
to women’s issues and provide a more thorough basis of women’s history
by
expanding the scope of their coverage than the general dictionaries
just
mentioned. Please refer to the sections below entitled “Women Writers
and
Women’s Writing” and “Feminism” for specialized dictionaries concerning
literature
and feminism.

Though organized by
proper name (150 women in all, including
legendary figures), this acts much more like a women’s historical
dictionary
than a biographical dictionary. Names are grouped together by time
period (Nara
period to the early 1980s) and discussed in terms of their contemporary
significance in order to give meaning to women’s history that has been
hidden
for so long. Footnotes are provided within entries to explain difficult
concepts.

1284
entries of the customs, traditions, clothing,
employment, beliefs, sexuality, love, events, and activities of
Japanese women
(and foreign women with a strong connection to Japan) from ancient
times to
post-war, including many less-known figures. Each entry is
signed by a
scholar in Japanese history. Includes an appendix
of further
reading in women’s studies (books and essays only).

<>

>

Inoue
Teruko, ed. Iwanami joseigakujiten. Iwanami Shoten,
2002.

REF HQ1180.I93 2002

While entries are not
entirely limited to Japan, this is an
extremely useful, compact resource for those conducting research in the
fields
of Japanese feminism/women’s studies as well as contextualizing the
study of
women’s issues globally within a Japanese perspective. Places
particular emphasis on recent research in women’s studies and gender,
the definition
and explanation of new vocabulary which has grown out of women’s
studies, and
the re-defining and re-explaining of existing vocabulary from the
viewpoints of
women’s studies and feminism. Includes historical contexts of a
term and
often provides the most important scholars and/or titles to turn to for
further
reading. Cross referencing; indexes in Japanese and English; many
entries
contain an English sub-heading. 858 entries including conventions,
laws, terms,
scholars, writers, health issues, and so on of the modern period. Includes a fairly extensive appendix of URL’s of
important sites
relating to women’s studies and feminism.

Biographies

Gendai Nihon joseijinmeiroku.Nichigai
Associates, 1996.

REF CT3730.G46 1996

This volume was
designed in order to demonstrate the wide
horizons of women in the current Japanese environment in terms of
career,
lifestyle, and so on that could not have been fathomed just three
decades ago.
16,200 Japanese (and some foreign) women who were alive as of March,
1996,
divided by profession into 10 categories. Majority of entries are
comprised of
women writers, critics, scholars, educators, journalists, religious
persons,
artists, musicians, and performers, as well as economists, business
women,
managers, politicians, scientists, doctors, and engineers. Each entry
includes
birth date and place, profession, educational history, accomplishments,
interests, hobbies, prizes, memberships, career history, contact
information,
and date of entry submission.

Shinteigendai
Nihon joseijinmeiroku.Nichigai Associates, 2001.

REF CT3730.G46 2001

Revised
edition of the previously listed biographical
dictionary, containing 18,012 names. All entries were updated
from 1997
to 2000 (submission updates cited at the end of each entry). The ten
profession-categories from the 1st edition have been divided
into
100 subcategories which allow one relatively fast access to all the
major individuals
in a particular discipline. New categories were added, such as writers
of children’s
literature, announcers, etc. Also, home pages added to contact
information if
available.

<>

>

Kin gendai
Nihon joseijinmeijiten.DomesuShuppan, 2001.

REF CT3730.K56 2001

Very
good biographical dictionary of 1309
influential women from Meiji to 2001 (though some major names in
contemporary
women’s studies are noticeably absent).Includes
writers, feminists, athletes, politicians, professors, performers,
artists,
educators, journalists, athletes, scholars, poets, and so on.
Each entry
includes a basic biography and references with full citations. Includes
an
appendix of major Japanese-language reference materials (mainly
postwar)
grouped by category.

Subtitled in English as
“Bibliography on Women’s Problems in
Japan,” this three-volume annotated bibliographical resource, though
growing
considerably out-of-date contains nearly 10,000 titles per volume.
Volume 1
corresponds to Meiji, volume 2 to Taisho and pre-war Showa, and volume
3 to
post-war Showa until 1975. Some of the entries include table of
contents and/or
a summary.

Nihon no josei:
dokushoannai,
denki hen. Nichigai Associates, 1995.

Z3308.W65 N54 1995

Subtitled in English as
“Guide to Famous Japanese
Biographies: Women in Japanese History,” this convenient resource guide
includes 3300 postwar titles (all with full citations and often summary
and/or
table of contents) corresponding to 822 women. Includes politicians,
activists,
actresses, writers, performers, and so on who were prominent in ancient
times
to those who are prominent today.

An
index of resources for further research
of 34,000 Japanese (including some foreign) women from the pre-modern
to the
modern period. This list updates those sources included in the Nihon
joseijinmeijiten,
also published by the Nihon Tosho Center (see entry by Julie
Rousseau). This
index includes 5 times as many entries and includes women who are
currently
active in their profession. In the beginning of the index, complete
bibliographical information and a short description are provided for
each of
the references that are cited in the individual entries. Prominent
figures such
as MurasakiShikibu
contain
as many as 43 references. Also includes a short biography of 2800 women
who
have died between Heisei 1-14 near the end.

Kristina Ruth Huber. Women in Japanese Society: An
Annotated Bibliography of Selected English Language Materials. New York:
Greenwood Press, 1992.

REF Z7964.J3 H82 1992

Intended for
undergraduates and teachers of undergraduates,
this annotated bibliography contains 2311 titles broken down into
useful
sections and sub-sections relating to women in private and public
spheres,
women as artists, performers, and writers, and so on. Titles are drawn
from
English-language materials written in the 19th and 20th
centuries, and Japanese-language sources written between 1841 and 1990
that
have been translated into English. Each entry includes a biography,
works (if
applicable, with the original title in Japanese), and citations.

Other

Though they may not perfectly fit into
the realm of Japanese
women’s “history,” I believe the following resources are certainly
quite
valuable for anyone conducting research on women’s “studies,” and are
included here
given that they do not appear elsewhere in our Japanese Bibliography
pages.

This is a terrific directory
containing 107 national women’s organizations and organizations where
women
comprise a large number of members, as of June 1996. In Part 1, entries
are
indexed into categories with a main index also at the back, and each
includes
the name of the organization (also translated into English),
representative’s
name, contact information, date established, major activities, goals,
current
year’s activities, budget, number of members, international associates,
and
slogan. In Part 2, there is a list of officials’ names and their
contact
information, for each of the 107 organizations previously listed. Also
includes
a supplementary listing of 793 women’s educational and training centers
(organized by prefecture).

Similar to Fujinhakusho
(see Julie
Rousseau), this is an annual
publication of statistics related to the current state of women in
Japan. Each
year contains a new theme; for example the 2002 issue was entitled
“Employment
and Women, War and Women,” stemming from the September 11th
incident
in NY.

<>

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Josei no deetabukku:
sei, karadakaraseijisanka
made. Yûhikaku, 1991.

HQ1762.J654 1991

Part 1 of this book is
a data file which consists of 2 page
explanations, including statistics, figures, and charts about topics
such as Japanese
women and marriage, the body, employment, society, education,
male/female roles,
and mass media. Part 2 is a chronology of women’s history from
1945-1990
organized by political organizations; economics, labor, and the
workplace;
family, gender, and lifestyle; and education and culture.

Joseigakukiinanbaa.Yûhikaku,
2000.

HQ1762. J69225 2000

How do Japanese women
match up to their male counterparts in
various categories? Each page is headed with a number or percentage in
large
bold type and is followed by a description with text and charts.
Contains a useful
index, is compact, and looks like a fun alternative to scanning through
pages
and pages of statistics.

\
HQ1101.U538 (1999-2001 issues on shelf; past issues can be
requested from Offsite)

With an impressive list
of scholars in Japanese women’s
studies on its editorial staff and an equally stimulating list of
essays each
month, the U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal should be one of the first
resources to
utilize when seeking current discourse in the realm of Japanese women’s
history
and women’s studies. The “English Supplement” is a unique
characteristic which
does not exist in any other field and is the direct translation of its
Japanese
counterpart, the NichibeiJoseiJaanaru
(EA HQ1104.N5).
The goal of the journal is to exchange scholarship on women and gender
between
Japan, the U.S., and other countries. Essays of considerable length
ranging from
those of a pre-modern genre to issues and debates in contemporary Japan
are
discussed in any given issue, and a wide variety of disciplines such as
literature, history, film, and feminist discourse are similarly
utilized. The
original title in Japanese is provided in the supplement; likewise the
translated title in English is provided in the Japanese version. Both
the
English and Japanese versions are generated biannually.

Though you may have to
search a bit longer to find articles
related to your specific topic, it is a good idea to browse through the
following journals as well: Positions, Japan Forum, Journal
of
Japanese Studies, MonumentaNipponica, and the Japanese Journal of
Religious
Studies. The most recent issues of these journals are available in
Starr
and all are accessible as E-Journals through the Starr Library homepage.

IV. Specific Topics:

This section is also a selected
bibliography of works, and does not endeavor to be exhaustive by any
means.
Nearly all the English-language books that follow could be especially
useful as
reading for undergraduates as well as being useful for graduate
students to
peruse based on their research topics.

This dictionary is
comprised of nearly 1000 women writers of
Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei. Includes fairly simple biographies
including
the writer’s career history, prizes awarded, her major works (often
with plot
summaries), and her “bungakusekai.”
At the end, there is a chronology of modern Japanese women’s literature
(1868-1988) alongside men’s literature and trends in society and
literature.

This handy, compact,
up-to-date resource is sub-titled in
English as “Guide to Japanese Literary Works: 150 Women Writer’s Works”
and consists
of 8056 titles from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s of 150 living and deceased
writers.
Includes novelists, poets, tanka
poets, haiku poets, essayists, and playwrights. Each entry
includes name
of writer and title of work (s) often with contents, table of contents,
and/or
different editions.

Gendaijoseisakkakenkyûjiten.KanaeShobô, 2001.

PL725.G46 2001

For each of these 33
post-war women writers who are still
actively writing today, this dictionary includes a biography and a
lengthy
summary of their works and reception (ranging from 5 to 20 pages). The
biographical portion of the entry includes information about her
childhood,
educational history, major works and prizes. Each story includes a
synopsis and
critical analysis. Useful indexes by writer and by major works at the
end.
Though only 33 women are covered in this dictionary, it is extremely
useful to
learn what issues contemporary Japanese women writers are writing about.

Finding a particular
writer may be hit-or-miss with this
book, since only 58 prominent writers are included from the 9th
century to the present, however entries are of substantial length and
provide
the reader with the literary climate of the writer’s time. The target
audience
is certainly an English-speaking one given that these writers were
chosen only
if they are of great interest to Western scholars and general readers,
and if
their works are available in English. Most of the writers are poets and
novelists, but there are also premodern diarists, TV scriptwriters,
movie
scenario writers, and modern dramatists included as well. The
bio-critical
entries are comprised of the writer’s life, career, major works,
translated
works, and bibliography (including critical writings about her). The
chronology
and bibliography are not likely of much use.

The 13 papers that
comprise this book were originally
presented at the Rutgers University Conference on Japanese Women
Writers in
1993. Stimulating essays discuss issues such as gender and criticism,
concepts
and origins of women’s literature, female resistance through writing,
cultural
meanings of “woman,” and power and gender. A selected English-language
bibliography of Japanese women’s writing includes English translations
of
modern Japanese fiction and classical works, bibliographies,
collections,
journal articles (1980-1995), and book reviews (1980-1995).

Ericson, Joan E. Be a
Woman: Hayashi
Fumiko and Modern Japanese Women’s
Literature.
Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.

RES PL829.A8 Z63 1997

Historically analyzes
the characteristics of women’s writing
and the placement of women (writers) within the modern literary canon
by
utilizing the writing of Hayashi Fumiko
and other
important female figures who laid the foundations for women’s writing
in Japan.
A great book for discussion of the terms “joryûbungaku” and “joryûsakka,” as these women writers remained
outside the
literary mainstream and separated from general (i.e. men’s) literature.
Good
bibliography of works by/related to Hayashi Fumiko,
and related to Japanese women’s literature, history, and feminism, in
English
and Japanese. Includes a translation of two of
Hayashi’s
short stories, Hôrôki
and Suisen.

Examines 3 less-known
women writers (of women’s magazines,
translations, and novels) vis-à-vis their contemporary, Higuchi Ichiyô, and female (literary) expression
at the end of the
19th century in an effort to understand the way women are
received
and presented at the end of the 20th century. Lost Leaves
speaks less of joryûbungaku
and more of explicit male and female spheres within which the women
writer
struggled to be taken seriously and struggled to create a literature of
her own
without being isolated from the category of Japanese literature.

Gender and Society

Janet Hunter, ed. Japanese
Women Working. New York: Routledge,
1993.

HD6197.J355 1993

Little has been written
in English on women’s work in Japan
and the 10 essays in this edited volume provide a good insight into the
subject. All essayists have contributed numerous other essays in the
field and
utilize both Japanese and English sources. Discusses
female
domestic servants, textile factory workers, the motherhood protection
debate,
women as bosses, equal employment opportunities, and professional
housewives.

This project emerged
from discussions at AAS conferences and
seeks to “shatter” a number of stereotypes about Japanese women. Takes
off
where Bernstein’s, Recreating Japanese Women:
1600-1945, ends (1945-1990s).
13 essays including well-known scholars in the
field and
great topics, all about contemporary Japanese women.
Topics
include women, state, and media, nurturing and motherhood, gender, the
literary
world, household, traditional arts, women legislators, bar hostesses,
and
career management.

Ogasawara Yuko, Office
Ladies and Salaried Men, Power, Gender, and Work in Japanese Companies. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1998.

HD6073.M392 J36 1998

What are the tasks
assigned to the OL? How does the treatment
of men and women in large Japanese companies differ? What tactics do OL’s employ to resist the “phenomenon” of men’s
individuality versus women’s namelessness in the workplace? Why are
women
inclined to leave their jobs before they can acquire better positions?
A great
book for undergraduates, Ogasawara explores the power relations between
men and
women, and female office workers and their male co-workers and bosses.

Robin
M. LeBlanc. Bicycle Citizens: The
Political World of the Japanese Housewife. Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1999.

RES
HQ1236.5.J3 L43 1999

This is the only book
to explore the relationship between
politics and the daily lives of non-elite and Japanese homemakers in
the
postwar era. LeBlanc resists an essentializing of female gender roles
and
woman’s maternal instincts, a view that can hinder a woman’s social
capacities.
From volunteers to politicians, the women interviewed by LeBlanc who
are
represented here have both avoided and embraced politics in their
struggle to
escape the social stigma of a housewife. Also good
for
undergraduates.

Feminism

Nihon joseiundôshiryôshûsei.Fuji Shuppan, 1995.

OFFSITE HQ1762.N55 1993

Chronological
compilation of newspaper and magazine articles
related to the Japanese women’s movement/women’s activities from 1881
to 1945.
Volumes 1-3 deal with thought and politics, volumes 4-7 with lifestyle
and
labor, volumes 8-9 with human rights, and volume 10 with war. Each
volume
contains an index of subjects, within which articles are organized
chronologically by event, issue, convention, etc. Supplemental volume
includes
a good biographical dictionary of figures in the women’s movement from
those
listed in volumes 1-10; an index to volumes 1-10; an index of names,
organizations, and compilers from the 10 volumes; and the table of
contents for
the 10 volumes.

An anthology of the
most powerful original writings in
Japanese feminist theory from the 1970s until the 1990s reproduced in
these 8
volumes with the general theme of “women’s experience.” Each volume
explores a
different theme, within which essays are sub-divided. Themes are: (1)
Liberation and Feminism, (2) Feminist Theory, (3) Gender Roles, (4)
Power, (5)
Motherhood, (6) Sexuality, (7) Expression and Media, and (8) Men’s
Studies.

Subtitled in English as “Complete
List of Japanese Books of Feminist Issues: 1945-1994,” this list of
26,282
titles, though not annotated, is very useful. Divided
into 15
sections, including: women’s studies, women’s history, law, lifestyle,
education, the body, work, and essays/articles related to women, and
further
divided into many sub-sections for easy searching. Often
includes a
short summary of the work.

Same as the
above, with 10 sections and 8589 titles covering the years 1995 to 1998.

Sharon L. Sievers.
Flowers in Salt: The Beginnings of Feminist
Consciousness in Modern Japan.
Stanford: University of California Press,
1983.

RES HQ1763 .S57 1983

This book stems from a
cross-cultural examination of
feminism in Japan compared with notions of women, marriage, equality,
family,
and education in America and Europe at the same time. Each chapter
takes a
chronological step forward in women’s experience as they progressively
moved
toward formal recognition of women’s rights and away from dependence on
men. Provides a good history of feminism from the
1860s through to early
Taisho, including the early Meiji debate, Popular Rights Movement,
textile
workers, Socialist women, and women writers.

Contains substantially lengthy
profiles of 10 famous “serious feminist theorists” who participated in
individual
interviews with Buckley; proves there are Japanese feminists.
Each
provoking chapter contains a picture of the individual followed by a
biography,
contents of the interview (conducted and translated by Buckley), a
selection
from one of her essays (again translated by Buckley), and a selected
list of
her works. Also contains a chronology of significant events in the
history of
Japanese women (1868-1991) and a list of feminist and related women’s
organizations (as of 1993) including the organization’s contact
information,
activities, and publications.